Who Can Tell Me Who I Am
"Who Can Tell Me Who I Am" is the fourth episode in season 1 of Shades of Blue. It premiered on January 28, 2016. Overview Loman's loyalty is tested when his guilt over the death of an unarmed suspect becomes a liability; Wozniak sends Harlee on an errand that reveals he has a silent partner; Wozniak realizes Donnie is withholding information; and Harlee unwittingly leads the FBI to incriminating evidence. Recap She exits Nava’s place around 3 a.m., only to find Stahl waiting for her across the street. He’s there ostensibly to pick up her recorder, but he’s clearly just jealous of Harlee’s new boo. She hands over the tape and drops a little knowledge in the process: She’s done her research and learned that the FBI can’t compel her to wear a wire, particularly if she fears for her life. Which she does because Wozniak is getting seriously paranoid. If Harlee is having a tough evening, Loman isn’t faring any better. He standes on the tracks of an above-ground subway, looking down to the river below. Anguished over his dirty shoot and disillusioned about the morality of police work, he’s at the end of his rope. He throws his gun over the edge and then climbs onto the railing, where he considers following his gun into the watery depths. He spots the gun lying on a bridge support below him; it didn’t make it into the river. Before Loman can decide to jump, a train comes, and the conductor screams at him to climb down. Loman does, but his guilt and despair won’t be so easy to overcome. In a taxi heading home from Nava’s, Harlee spots a robbery in progress at a bodega. She draws her weapon and manages to stop one of the robbers as he’s leaving the store. But his accomplice pulls a knife on the store owner and tells Harlee he’ll kill him if she doesn’t let them go. Backup arrives, and the second robber stabs the store owner (not fatally) before both criminals run off. The conductor must have reported Loman’s behavior because, the next morning, Tufo and Det. David Saperstein, another squad member, are ribbing him about his suicidal depression. Fun times, until Tufo spots a funeral card on Loman’s desk. It’s for Jamarr, the dealer he killed. Now Tufo and Saperstein turn serious. They cannot tolerate a crewmember who feels remorse for taking out a bad guy. Saperstein forces Loman to switch guns, saying his is the luckiest in the precinct. Harlee leaves work to go to see Woz in the hospital. He crashed his car last night after getting buzzed and then getting off with a nameless guy in a back alley. Harlee should be pissed at Woz for nearly killing her hardly 12 hours ago, but she forgives him straight off the bat. That’s good because he’s got another dangerous and illegal favor to ask: He wants her to drive an empty van to his storage unit. He hands her a burner phone, telling her she’ll get a text with the van’s current address. Harlee asks, but Woz won’t say what he’s plotting. Harlee leaves work to go to see Woz in the hospital. He crashed his car last night after getting buzzed and then getting off with a nameless guy in a back alley. (Shades of Blue‘s really trafficking in self-loathing gay clichés.) Harlee should be pissed at Woz for nearly killing her hardly 12 hours ago, but she forgives him straight off the bat. That’s good because he’s got another dangerous and illegal favor to ask: He wants her to drive an empty van to his storage unit. He hands her a burner phone, telling her she’ll get a text with the van’s current address. Harlee asks, but Woz won’t say what he’s plotting. Back at the precinct, all the detectives (except Harlee, who’s off doing Woz’s bidding) notice Loman’s not around, and Saperstein figures he must have gone to Jamarr’s funeral, despite their warnings. Tufo, Espada, Saperstein, and Tess all head to the church, where they find Loman at the podium, about to make a confession. They pull him out and slam him into the back of a squad car to the jeers of angry mourners. After, Harlee meets up with them at a diner — well, all except Loman, whom they’ve left in the car outside. Saperstein complains about Loman’s behavior, saying he’s not one of them and he needs to get over his guilt about doing his job. Harlee sighs, then comes clean: Loman made a mistake in shooting Jamarr. It wasn’t self-defense; it was murder. None of the other detectives has much of a reaction to this appalling information, aside from making sure Harlee isn’t in jeopardy. Harlee’s phone beeps with the location of Woz’s van, so she bounces. Once she’s gone, Saperstein declares they have to get Loman’s issues figured out before they can continue the robbery investigation. Harlee finds the van in a deserted lot. She then calls Stahl and clues him in to where she is and what Woz has asked her to do. Stahl is surprised and pleased she’s offering information. Before he and Chen can arrive, Harlee checks the truck to make sure it really is clean. Under the carpet, she finds a false bottom, and in the secret compartment, she discovers a counting machine and a package of explosives wrapped in plastic. She calls Woz in a rage. Back to the other detectives’ twisted intervention. They’ve taken Loman, handcuffed and terrified, to a dirt yard under the elevated subway tracks. They push a gun in his face, and make like they’re about to force him to play Russian roulette, all while screaming about how they’re “family.” Loman pleads for his life and desperately fights to get away from the gun. That’s all they were looking for, and they ease up. They’ve confirmed Loman isn’t suicidal after all and that he can now be trusted as Harlee’s partner. Stahl and Chen meet Harlee at the van. They check it and find the compartment, which she’s preemptively emptied. The Feds want her to lead them to the destination Woz gave her (his storage unit), but she takes them to his trailer instead. She still has some loyalty left, it seems, and she doesn’t want them too hot on his trail. Meanwhile, Woz meets Donnie to question him about the van’s unexpected cargo. By “question,” Woz means “suckerpunch in the face.” Donnie explains his plan: a controlled explosion at an abandoned warehouse — no one will be hurt. Woz counters that their whole plan was supposed to be pickup, delivery, security. Explosives were not part of the deal. Next, Woz goes to meet with Loman, who he hears isn’t doing so hot. In an effort at family bonding, Woz assures the younger officer that he’s also killed people on the job. Loman dismisses his attempts at empathy, saying it’s not the same thing. Their unit puts away eight times more black suspects than white ones. He’s struggling with his neighborhood’s perception that he’s sided against them. He hates that black kids in his own community are taught to fear the police, taught they could be shot at any time. Woz tells him the police, not the people they serve, are his family now. Following that pep talk, Woz has to go deal with Harlee, who’s furious that he’s upping the risk on their criminal activity. Normally they just take bribes — explosives are not part of their operation. Woz brings her up to speed on his latest gig: Some big-time criminal is moving cash offshore, and Woz is providing security while the move is made. “Four hours, one night, in and out.” Harlee says it’s too complicated, but Woz brushes her off. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so hasty. After Stahl finds Woz’s trailer is clean, he searches for other properties and discovers Woz’s storage unit. Inside, he finds the explosives, as well as four counting machines — enough to add up hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time. Everyone on the squad has been recruited into Operation Cheer Up Loman, an utter failure thus far — probably because their tactics have included making him fear for his own life and regaling him with tales of their own criminal missteps. Now, it’s Harlee’s turn. They’ve dug up the address of their burglary suspect’s girlfriend, so Harlee takes Loman with her to investigate. The girlfriend opens the door a crack, and it’s immediately evident she’s been beaten. However, she won’t let the cops in without a warrant. She closes the door, and Harlee and Loman immediately hear her being kicked around some more. But without a cry for help, it’s illegal for them to enter. Harlee gives Loman the choice: They can go by the book, and come back with a warrant tomorrow (by which time the woman will be in a much worse state and their suspect in the wind); or he can “hear a cry for help” and bust in the door right now. He steals himself, then makes his decision: Sometimes, the right choice isn’t going by the book. The door comes down. Cast Starring *Jennifer Lopez as Harlee Santos *Ray Liotta as Matt Wozniak *Drea de Matteo as Tess Nazario *Warren Kole as Robert Stahl *Dayo Okeniyi as Michael Loman *Hampton Fluker as Marcus Tufo *Vincent Laresca as Carlos Espada *Sarah Jeffery (credit only) Guest Starring *Santino Fontana as David Saperstein *Michael Esper as Donnie Pomp *Gino Anthony Pesi as James Nava *Annie Chang as Molly Chen *Erica Ash as Erica *Caleb McLaughlin as Jay-Jay *Jo Armeniox as Amber *Lolita Davidovich as Linda Wozniak Co-Starring *Ethan Russell as Kyle *Prianga Pieris as Cabbie *Luke Forbes as Bernard *Charlie Hudson III as Ricky *Julian Leong as Orderly *Germar Terrell Gardner as Pastor *Kianné Muschett as Mourner #1 *Rony Clanton as Mourner #2 *Michael De Nola as Doctor *Morgan Priester as Quarterback *Toni Ann De Nobl as Mom *Isabelle Pierre as Silvia *Cole Bullock as Football Kid #1 *Isaiah Negrón as Football Kid #2 Multimedia Soundtrack Videos Shades of Blue 1x04 Promo "Who Can Tell Me Who I Am" (HD) Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Episodes